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Wagendrift Nature Reserve South Africa

Wagendrift Nature Reserve Escort KwaZulu-Natal South Africa

After replacing my lost camera, Joan and I headed north towards the Drakensburg Mountains.  We camped at Wagendrift Nature Reserve near Escort where I would later rent a car.

Camp at Wagendrift Nature Reserve Escort KwaZulu-Natal South Africa

There are so many beautiful places to camp in South Africa with services including toilet, shower, and often laundry and food.

Large moth on bathroom floor Wagendrift Nature Reserve Escort KwaZulu-Natal South Africa

In the morning, the bathrooms provide great bug specimens.

Sunrise Wagendrift Nature Reserve Escort KwaZulu-Natal South Africa

I saw sunrise daily while traveling with Joan, not my typical pattern but oh so worth it.

Plover Wagendrift Nature Reserve Escort KwaZulu-Natal South Africa

Plover

Camping along the reservoir we saw several birds, most of which I couldn’t get photos of.

Grasses Wagendrift Nature Reserve Escort KwaZulu-Natal South Africa This was a really tranquil place to stop beating myself over putting my camera in a shallow pocket while walking the Durban beach and loosing it to the Indian Ocean.  Even better, I got to start practicing with the new, bigger and better Fuji Finepix S1500.

R600 to the Drakensburg KwaZulu-Natal South Africa

Then we continued on into an even more spectacular landscape.

South Africa, Wagendrift Nature Reserve , , 15 Comments

Marble View camping

Marble View North Canyon & Marble Plateau Forest Road219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Marble View camping on the Kaibab National Forest overlooks North Canyon, Marble Plateau, Marble Canyon where the Colorado River cuts through and beyond.  Plus a great place to hunt for fossils.

Sunset over North Canyon from Marble View Forest Road219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Arrived just in time to catch the sunset colors splayed across the canyon.

Lightning from Marble View Forest Road219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

And also a great lightning storm to the south and east.

Full moon behind clouds from Marble View Forest Road219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

While the full moon tried to break through the building clouds.

Full moon behind partial cloud from Marble View Forest Road219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

I played with various settings on my camera.

Full moon paritally behind clouds from Marble View Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Still don’t really know how the dang thing works.

Full moon from Marble View Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Even had a tripod.

Mike fossil hunting at Marble View Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

This morning the sun shone and we went fossil hunting.

Fossils in limestone at Marble View Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

There are plenty of fossils to hunt.

Fossil collection from Marble View Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

I’ll use the crinoids that look like beads on some necklaces.

Storm over East Rim from Marble View Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Then another storm approached.

Mike at Marble View Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

And Mike finally convinced me to head back to camp where we thought we’d wait it out. But, it seemed to be coming down heavier.

Raining on Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

So, we packed it in and headed back through the forest in the rain.

Hail along Forest Road 219 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

And even saw hail on the ground.

 

Arizona, Kaibab National Forest, Marble View, National Parks and Monuments , , , , , 15 Comments

Camping at Crazy Jug Point

Kaibab Lodge Geodetic Survey marker Kaibab National Forest Arizona

After a filling breakfast at the Kaibab Lodge we headed west on Forest Road 22 to go camping at Crazy Jug Point.

Dry Park Lookout Tower Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Stopped at Dry Park Lookout Tower but decided not to climb to the top.  This is as far as Mike got.  I’ve been up it before so that was alright with me.

Wildflowers along Forest Road 425 Kaibab National Forest Arizona

We drove very slowly through the Ponderosa forest blanketed with wildflowers.

West Lake Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Made a detour to check out West Lake which was almost dried up to nothing yet was ringed with some very old fencing from ranching days.

Forest Road 425 through canyon Kaibab National Forest Arizona

We continued on Forest Road 425 down into a small narrow canyon among the Juniper and Pinyon woodlands.

Crazy Jug Canyon Kaibab National Forest Arizona

And finally found ourselves at the rim, looking vast distances across the canyon.

Rain over canyon from Crazy Jug Point Kaibab National Forest Arizona

We were treated to an amazing show as a rain storm came towards Crazy Jug Point.

Sun through clouds over Crazy Jug Point Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Then as the rain passed over us the lowering sun shone through.

Sun through rain clouds over canyon from Crazy Jug Point Kaibab National Forest Arizona

To create the most spectacular light.

Turkey Vulture soaring above Crazy Jug Point Kaibab National Forest Arizona

The vultures soared overhead.

Double rainbow over Crazy Jug Canyon from Crazy Jug Point Kaibab National Forest Arizona

And after the rain a promise fulfilled.

Sunset over canyon from Crazy Jug Point Kaibab National Forest Arizona

Plus a glorious sunset to end our day of play.

Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim, Kaibab National Forest, National Parks and Monuments , , , , 23 Comments

Lijit

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